Soria:
A Riverbank Of Poets
Springtime in Soria!
Humble spring, like the dream of a holy man,
Of a poor passer-by asleep,
Exhausted, in an infinite moorland!
ORIA
S
Antonio Machado
And Its Parador
umans were not the first inhabitants of this land. Our species
would still need hundreds of thousands of years to settle these
mountains, and hunt out their medium sized quadruped prey, with
sticks and rocks. Soria’s first inhabitants were dinosaurs. Their lasting
empire endured throughout various million years, from Soria, the
province’s capital, to the High Lands (Tierras Altas).
H
After the terrible reptiles beomes extinct, in the Pleistocene Era, Homo
Erectus begins to leave traces of its Paleolithic industry throughout the
Peninsula. At the end of the Bronze Age, the people of Soria already have
their own recognizable characteristics: shepherding, agriculture, and settling
along the river lowlands. As yesterday, those waters still flow from the
mountain peaks, sierras, canyons, and glaciers through the beds of the
rivers Ucero, Jalón, Revinuesa, Tera, Lobo, and the ever-cherished Duero.
Well into the Iron Age, the province may well have been identical to its
present-day diverse apearance: freezing in the north, between Moncayo
and el Urbión, green and lush in the west, woven with cattle tracks, where
herds gathered to graze, and high moorlands, in the south. Cereal began
to sprout on the central plains. And, less than three centuries before our
era, in Uxama, Segontia, Tiermes or Numancia, settements began to
flourish in what later on would become cities.
Legendary Celtic-Iberian
City
L
egendary Numancia, known to us by Latin writers before we
had archaeological evidence, took a while—about a thousand years—
before it rose as a city. It declined, however, in the first centuries of our
era. No tangible signs of the city survived in Soria’s countryside till the
Middle Ages. But the legendary site never fell into oblivion. About thirty
classical authors recorded the incredible event in their writings. After a 20
year fruitless siege on the city of Numancia , Rome entrusted the mission
to her best general: Cornelius Scipio, who had already shown his courage
by bending Carthage to Rome ’s will years earlier. He placed seven camps
around the city, making sure that no food reached the rebel enclave
neither by land nor by sea. Thus, after 15 months, in the year 133 BCE,
Roman troops entered the city without any sort of resistance from the
enemy. Those people would have preferred to starve than surrender to the
Empire.
We owe Antonio Nebrija, a brilliant Renaissance, grammar, botanical,
theology, and cosmography scholar, credit for finding the location of
Numancia near Soria. Credit also goes to Ambrosio de Morales and
Mosquera de Barnuevo, for finding the exact position in La Muela de
SORIA AND ITS PARADOR
1
Towards the end of the V c., the Visigoths invaded the Iberian
Peninsula . Their passage through Soria left a necropolis and some other
treasures. The Gothic influence (according to some scholars) is also
evident in the Romance Castilian, in words such as ‘Taniñe’ (literally
‘place of the pine trees’), a topographical name with an undeniable
Germanic root. To such linguistic features, we might add that the
people of the mountains in this area are often blond, surely a
Visigoth inheritance.
Arabs, Christians And
Eiled Heroes
Garray, two centuries later. Geography was key, for it was an elevated
point, from which it was easy to dominate the plains, and in the distance,
surrounded by sierras, and the natural barriers of the Duero and
Merdancho Rivers . A safe mountain peak, connecting the Upper Duero
with the Ebro Valley . Pine tree, sabina (Cupresaceae), and oak forests,
pastures, and river bank vegetation where lynxes, boars, deer, wolfs,
bears, rabbits, small birds, birds of prey, and water fauna run, hunt, and
drink water. This is a perfect place for the high culture that settled there.
The glorious Sorian people who built their fortresses there around the
III c. CE were quite advanced. Their Celtic-Iberian features shine through
in their cultural heritage. The strength of this people comes from their
original tribe, the Arevacos, or the most powerful of all Celtic-Iberian
tribes. They were the first to build a fortified city, surrounded by
watchtowers. Their houses were laid out in grids. Their society had two
main branches: the council of the wise elders and the council of the
young. They grounded acorns, they harvested grain, tanned leather and
produced wool. They ate what they hunted and fished, along with
vegetables they produced, and drank wine with honey.
Slow archaeological excavations have placed each rock in its place
since 1861, muddling the city’s mythical aura. Despite this, many aspects
of this passionate culture still remain to be interpreted, as the site’s
findings appear to be inexhaustible.
Roman Roads
Towards Feudalism
N
umancia, and the rest of the province, became part of Hispania
Citerior in the year 27 BCE. As with the rest of the peninsula, its
Romanization implies a reorganization of the land. Mountains and forests in
the north were dedicated to cattle, while the central and southern areas,
more favorable to agriculture, became cereal fields, where cities and towns
began to sprout as well.
Rome’s typical concern for building bridges and roads improved the
communication between the most important centers of the province
(Uxama, Tiermes, Occilis, and Numancia), also giving rural centers like
Barahona, Aguilera, and Gormaz more importance.
Beginning in the III c. CE., the cities begin to lose some population, that
went off to the fields to feed, in turn, the city people. Numancia’s self-rule
reaches such a high level of development in some Valleys of the Duero , that
private guards are necessary to protect workers and cattle alike. The seed of
feudalism, however, would not take long to sprout.
P
erhaps the Jalón Valley is the area where Muslims settled and
stayed the longest, until they area was definitely re-conquered
in the year 1123. The majority of ruins, however, that are witnesses to the
Muslim occupation of Soria are found in the military posts found on the
eastern part of the province. Al–Hakam II rebuilt the castle of Gormaz
and Salim Ibn Waramai founded Madina Salim, repopulated by Galib in
the X c., around the same time the plaza was capital of the Middle County
(Marca Media). From Almanzor’s time, who had the fortress in Villa Vieja
built, underground horse stables, with a trapezoidal double-precinct, and
semi-circular towers. The terrible leader is said to lie there, although his
grave has yet to be found.
Numerous watchtowers, used for sending signals, are still standing
today near the rivers Torete and Escalote. There is a splendid row of little
towers reclining over the horizon. Along with Almazán’s, the walls with
gates from the Caliphate of Agreda are the most valuable cultural heritage
sites of the whole province.
On the Christian side, events begin to happen starting in 1035, when,
after the King of Navarra’s death, Fernando joins his brother García, king
of Pamplona, and takes the kingdom of León, becoming, eventually, the
king Fernando I of León and Castile. Sancho inherited the crown of
Castile , and tries to unify it with the rest of the territories his father split
up, upon his death, among his sons. El Cid makes his triumphant
entrance onto this scenario, as Don Sancho’s knight. Under his orders, El
Cid, known as Campeador (title he earned after defeating Jimeno Garcés
of Navarra), takes part in battles in León and Zamora , where the king is
killed. Jealous of El Cid’s growing fame, the new Castilian monarch,
Alphonse VI, invents reasons to take away his power firstly, and later on,
to exile him.
The long and hard odyssey Rodrigo endures until he regains his honor,
gives way to a series of chansons de geste, of which “El Cantar del Mio
Cid” is the only one that has survived in its entirety, a literary jewel and
the most important epic poem in written Castilian we have today. From
this poem we know that El Cid passed through Soria when he was already
in exile.
Regarding the modern day capital, then known as Medina-Soria,
precisely during the period of Muslim decline was when it grew as a city, to
defend the area. The little city grew in the XIII c., after having been
repopulated. Jews and Mozarabs (Christians who had lived amongst Arabs)
lived side by side in the neighborhood. Alphonse VIII, who managed to keep
the kingdom of León independent, thanks to the Sorians’ help, showed his
appreciation by giving them a handful of privileges that allowed Soria to
become wealthy quickly. The commercial impulse, in hands of the Jews’,
allowed the Jewish quarter to expand so much that it would go beyond the
castle limits.
SORIA AND ITS PARADOR
2
Order devoted their time to guarding large amounts of wealth entrusted to
it. Between 1118 and 1312, the Order attained a power unknown in
France at the time. Its presence in Soria has been proven. The best
evidence of it lies in the breathtaking Monastery of San Juan de Duero.
There, on the river’s bank, the great poet Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer sets the
legend of “the Mountain of Souls ,” according to which one may see the
famous Knights on horseback riding phantasmagorically over the hills, on
All Saints’s Eve. There are other Templar enclaves scattered throughout
the province, and a bunch of Black Madonnas, also associated with the
Order, in the towns of Yángüas, San Pedro de Manrique, Agreda, and
Castillejo de Robledo. There is no proof, however, of any hidden treasure
or link to the Holy Grail whatsoever.
From those two splendid centuries, we can still see the church and
cathedral of Santo Domingo , with its incredible Romanesque façade, San
Juan de Rabanera, and the co-cathedral of San Pedro, with its plateresque
style façade and its XII c. Romanesque cloister.
Knight Lineages And
Templars
Shrouded In Legend
lphonse I implanted an institution of 12 knight orders in Soria,
in the kingdom of Navarra’s image, which, in turn took France’s
model of the Twelve Pairs (Doce Pares in Spanish), founded by the knight
Fortín López. Soon after, came the idea of giving Soria families of hidalgos
(noblemen), to split municipal power amongst each other, thereby giving
the city social influence, became a reality.
A
Indeed, the entire nobility of Soria is descended from the original
lineage’s nine lastnames (some names were duplicated, completing the
total dozen)—Barnuevo, Calatañazor, Chancilleres, Don Vela, Morales,
Salvadores, San Llorente, Santa Cruz , and Santisteban.
The Golden Tablet of don Pedro of Castile probably was as important a
treasure as the Holy Grail. The infante Don Juan inherited it from his
father, the king. According to M. Ferdinand de Méley, who researched and
wrote about the marvelous tablet, “something about it made it superior to
the value of gold and of precious stones.” The tablet’s power lay in its
magical virtues, extolled by astrologers and necromancers alike. Of course,
we have no proof of this fantastical treasure. What we do have in our
inventory is the following: pearls, balax, and the rest of the precious stones
that were part of the family jewels, along with proof of the infante’s
presence in Soria. A hostage of the city, the infante spent his days and
nights locked up in its dungeons, got married to the mayor’s daughter,
never left the city, until long after his death, when his daughter moved his
mortal remains to Madrid.
Herds Of Discord
he Honorable Council of Shepherds of Castile (El Honrado
Concejo de la Mesta de los Pastores de Castilla), approved by
Alphonse X, ‘the Wise One’, in the XIII c., come to Soria as a
godsend, on account of the Jewish commerce’s decline, and as a result of
governement’s growing mistrust of that community. La Mesta, was born to
end conflicts between farmers and shepherds, who took their herds through
the farmers’ fields.
T
The Council’s reaction, clearly in favor of the shepherds, flaunted its
power for the three centuries that followed. Large flocks of sheep, during
transhumance season, would come down up from their winter pastures in
the south, to the northern summer pastures under royal protection. The
crown’s shameless preference for the shepherds is understandable in light
of Castile ’s main product, exported throughout Europe for centuries to
come—sheep’s wool. One of the worst results of those centuries, when
sheep roamed freely, is the deforestation of Castile , a direct consequence
of unrestricted shepherding.
The unification of the kingdoms of Aragon , Navarre , anCastile ,
carried out by the Catholic Kings, took away Soria’s historical role as a
strategic enclave. Thus, two centuries went by until Soria made a come
back in the front row, when it took Philip’s V side in the War of
Succession, defending the Aragonese expansionist yearnings. The Soria we
know today, however, is basically the XIX century city that was rebuilt from
the ashes left by Napoleon’s troops.
In Soria, those days
more Christian then ever, where the
Church and nobility imposed their hegemony and values, appeared the
first order of knights, today still shrouded in mystery—the Order of the
Templars. It was a monastic organization made up of knight-monks whose
mission was to protect the pilgrims going to the Holy Land. In reality, the
SORIA AND ITS PARADOR
3
legend, for she was already dead when it was built. The church of
Santa María la Mayor, facing the Town Hall, is where poet Antonio
Machado married Leonor. Only the charmingly rustic tower and
entrance door with three arch-vaults and capitals are left over from the
Romanesque period.
At this point, it is fit to point out that poet Machado’s steps can be
followed on any route you choose in the tourist information office in Plaza
de Ramón y Cajal. The poet’s verses and biographical snippets, however,
will inevitably come to light, no matter how you chose to visit Soria.
Altars And Mystical
Glories
nd now, it’s off to the church of Santa María. Its Renaissance
headboard from the XVI c. and its main altar are some of the
province’s best examples of plateresque art. From our location in the Plaza
Mayor, if we take Collado Street , we will run into Plaza de Herradores,
where the city walls once stood. It is a happy street, and also incidentally,
the city’s shopping district.
A
A Crossbow Curve
From The Duero
eople come to Soria in search of Romanesque art, cypresses, and
the Templars. Soria has a romantic aura of legendary horse
galopping and golden evenings. Soria is, indeed, an unquestionable muse
in the verses of poets such as Bécquer, Machado, and Gerardo Diego. The
city exerts a special charm over newcomers, an inexorable pull to walk, to
go to the poplar grove, to its boulevard... Entranced by its streets, a
traveler’s steps become poetry.
P
From the Parador, guests can enjoy a spectacular view of Soria. The
Duero River flows in a murmur, with its white and yellow wave crests, day
and night. The Parador is a privileged viewpoint, comfortable and deeply
encrusted in Soria’s unique feel. It doesn’t matter where you start your
route. Once you are downtown, the options are endless. The city, with its
barely 100,000 inhabitants, is transparent like a river’s waters. Its
superbly Romanesque architecture lies open to the traveler’s view. A good
plan, here as in the rest of Castile , is to begin by having some coffee in
the Plaza Mayor. Soria’s Plaza Mayor supports the Town Hall on its
arches, once the seat of the Twelve Lineages. The portico of its façade, by
Martín de Solano, built in 1629, is still intact. The view of the building
from the Arch of the Horn (Arco del Cuerno), in la Casa del Común, on
Zapatería Street , is striking.
Until the late 1950’s, that is where bulls used to come out for
bullfights. Bullfighting tradition in Soria has deep roots. Thus, bulls that
come out for the feast of Saint John , on the summer solstice, are related
to ancient Celtic-Iberian rituals, according to anthropologists. The old
neo-classical style Town Hall, next to the new one, was once a
prison and seat of the Provincial Court. Today, it is an exhibition hall
and a cultural center. The tower nearby, hard to miss, is part of a XV c.
palace that once stood there. It is still known as the tower of doña
Urraca, although she surely was never held captive there, despite the
Let us now proceed down San Juan Street, southward . The street is
quite short. At its end, one can make out the building that today houses
the Provincial Council. Its entrance hall displays sculpted figures of
some of Soria’s great men and women: Saint Peter of Osma, who studied
in Cluny and was recruited by king Alphonse VI of León and Castile to
reform the church of Osma spiritually and materially; Sister María Jesús
of Agreda, outstanding literary mystic from the Golden Century, popularly
known as the Venerable One; el Cid’s Jester, chanson de gest singer and
‘broadcaster’ of the Campeador’s feats; Francisco López de Gómara,
author of History of the Indies and the Conquest of Mexico under
Alphonse VIII, amongst others.
Facing the Diputación (the Council) lies the spectacular church of
San Juan de Rabanera, a fundamental work of Castilian Romanesque
art. A National Monument dating back to the XII c., still boasts its original
semicycle apse, with adjacent pillars, serving as counterweights, and halfpoint, arch-vaulted windows.
The church was once part of the parishes that, in the time of Soria’s repopulating, used to gather the faithful in each neighborhood. Both its
cupola, raised above the original transept, as its Gothic chapel are
additions made after the church’s founding. The church’s beautiful façade
also comes from elsewhere, the church of San Nicolás. Inside, the image of
Christ in agony is worthy of mention.
On Caballeros Street, walking towards the river, less than two hundred
meters away, we run into the Palace of Alcantara , from the XVII c. The
route, going off in the opposite direction, westward, along Caballeros
Street, leaving behind the Ramón y Cajal and Mariano Granados Plazas,
takes us to the Numantine Museum, a crucial deposit for Soria’s history
and prehistory.
SORIA AND ITS PARADOR
4
A Long Way Back In
Time
A lthough the museum is mostly devoted to
nature, archaeology, crafstmanship, and
foreign cultures, its real interesting section deals with a
recreation of the Celtic-Iberian era. The museum’s rooms,
in fact, display valued findings from the necropoleis and archaeological
sites of Tiermes, Uxama, and Numancia.
Plans for the building were begun in 1912, by architect D.Manuel Aníbal
Álvarez. In 1916, when it was finished, it was donated to the State and
inaugurated by H.M. King D. Alphonse XIII, three years later. In 1968, the
original museum’s organization and transformation were carried out in what
we know today as the Provincial Museum. It now includes the rich findings
from Numantine sites proceeding from the old Celtic-Iberian Museum.
Laid out according to time periods, the museum takes visitors through
the Paleolithic, with bone fossils, stone utensils, etched slate tablets.to the
Neolithic period and the Bronze Age, with decorated ceramics, funeral
lozenges, and axes.to the Celtic-Iberian period, well represented by the
findings from Numancia. The town—sieged, defeated, and colonized by
the Romans—has an undoubtedly striking ceramic collection, decorated
with geometrical patterns, animal figures, and stilized human silouhettes.
Its chromatic richness lies in contrast with the earlier, duller Iberian
period. The Domador and Guerreros vases are striking proof of this. There
are also little figures of animals and genets (mammal Genetta genetta),
usually indentified as ex voto images.
The museum’s Roman pieces are also quite evocative, alongside other
pieces from various archaeological sites. The Museum is not only devoted
to exhibiting its collection, but also to historical recreation exhibits,
bringing ancient customs from our ancestors to life. In addition, countless
archaeological and scholarly work is carried out on still mysterious
symbols and their meaning.
An example of this is the Vase of the Bulls, which has inspired
countless scholars to discover its meaning. Basically, it is a vase, probably
with some sort of ritual function, in which two bull-like figures, one facing
the viewer and the other sideways, are surrounded by circular rays,
triglyphs, with a bent fish under one of the bulls. They symbolically
reenact one of the creation myths. According to scholar Ángel Almazán, it
is directly related to “the Hindu cosmogonic myth proceeding from the
Primordial Egg, or the Hiranyagarbha”, whereby linking our CelticIberian civilization to the Vedic myths of primitive Indian civilization.
After a similar visit, it might be a good idea to take a break. The Park
of Alameda de Cervantes (the Boulevard of Cervantes), directly facing
the museum, is the perfect spot. Known as La Dehesa, it is a green leafy
heart not many cities can claim to have. Its hundred-year-old trees give the
traveler some peace. Avenues here cross over grassy meadows, rose
gardens, and even some old hermitages.
The rest of the city still offers more to see, yet, perhaps, we must give
up seeing more palaces and museums so we can witness the surprising
sunset by the banks of the Duero. One of the best paths there is
following Machado’s footsteps. He himself walked down here many a time
with Leonor, arm in arm, towards San Saturio, finally reaching the Arches
of San Juan.If you want to make it shorter, go by car till San Polo and
then continue.
Those who prefer going on foot, in a very Machado-like fashion, should
go back to Calle Real ( Royal Street ), to its end, along Calle Obispo
Agustín, where you should check out the Cathedral of San Pedro and
its astounding Romanesque XII c. cloister, with obvious Byzantine and
Muslim influences.
Along The Banks Of The
Verso
n the Duero , who flows by licking the levigated dark stones
of Soria’s city walls, there is a bridge that leads to the ancient
convent of the Templars. Let us now stop by the bridge. A sign, on the
road from Ágreda to San Polo, points to San Saturio. There lie the
golden poplar groves,
O
“Poplars on the way along the banks
of the Duero , between San Polo and San Saturio [...]
Oh poplars of the love you had yesterday
of nightingales your branches laden; [...]
poplars of love by the water,
flowing, passing, dreaming,
poplars of the banks of the Duero ,
you’re off with me, my heart takes you away!”
A plaque in plaza San Saturio recalls the tribute given personally to
Machado in 1932. This hermitage’s dignity, mythical legends aside, lies
on the crag that supports it while listening to the river’s murmurs.
San Saturio is the anachoretic Visigoth patron saint of Soria, its numen;
a figure unrivalled among Soria’s saints. Inside the temple lies the meeting
hall of the so-called Cabildo de los Heros, of the XVIII c.; the cave of
San Miguel; the Window ‘of the Miracle,’ from where—legend has
it—a child once fell yet did not die; and, all the way up, the two
Capitular Halls, from whose windows the horizon extends endlessly.
Finally, we arrive to the church, from the end of the XVII c., with an
octagonal floor plan. Hermit saints decorate its cupola. The Altarpiece is
Baroque. The exoteric interpretations of this hermitage give full
importance to the image of Saint Michael the Archangel, who, according
to legend, has an image on the cave’s altar. His image is present
throughout the temple. For example, the altarpiece’s finish shows him
lifting up his lance—from his victory over the Devil, who lies at his feet.
The time has come now to return to the city along this bank. Let us not
cross over the birdge just yet; in front of it, we must admire San Juan de
Duero, on of Soria’s icons on account of its exceptional arches. The
church dates back to the year 1134. The hospitable knights of San Juan
would, later on, add the cloister. From then on, the monastery welcomed
SORIA AND ITS PARADOR
5
the lives and sighs of countless generations of cenobites until the XVII c. Its
arches, absolutely unique, evade all possible descriptions. Inside the small
church, its two little temples on either side of the presbyterium give the
whole building a Kabalistic feel. Let the visitor take delight in the scene.
Furthermore, the church has a medieval history section from the
Numantine Museum on Romanesque art—a must. Afterwards, enjoy the
walk back to the city at dusk.
Much More In Soria
obody would ever suspect that a small city like Soria, in chilly
Castile, hides such a well-assorted bag of splendis surprises.
Please take note here of the following sites for the rest of your days visiting
Soria:
N
Atheneum (Ateneo): Also called the Círculo de la Amistad (Circle of
Friendship), the Atheneum that both Antonio Machado and Gerardo Diego
frequented, is still open to all lovers of art and culture. There, on the third
floor, we can still find the piano that Gerardo used to play. (Calle Collado,
23).
Palacio de los Ríos y Salcedo: A beautiful XVIc. palace, with an
interesting façade and a curious corner-window. (Plaza de San Clemente ,
8).
Palacio de los Condes de Gómara: Perhaps the city’s most
important Renaissance building, with an eye-catching tower and façade. (in
the Street bearing its name, in front of the Plaza de Ramón Ayllón).
dinosaurs, through the High Lands (Tierras Altas). The best thing to do is
get a guide edited by the Provincial Tourism Board (“Route of the
Icnitas"), to figure out the best itinerary for you, following the spots that
the Junta (regional government) of Castile and León has pointed out
throughout the area.
A Meaty Casserole
S
orian cuisine shares a love for all of Castile’s meats. Lamb and
Suckling Pig are as cherished in Soria as they are in Segovia or Avila.
Typical of Soria, daughter of her pine groves and mountains, however, is a
preference for mushrooms. Milk Caps, Champignons, Cardoon
Mushrooms, and Truffles come in to invigorate any meat, vegetable, or
fish dish. Fish is an abundant prime product in Soria, despite what visitors
may think. The Duero River, with its mountain-born waters, is natural
breeding water for delicious Trout.
Yet this is a cold land, especially when walking through fields and
countryside; hunger starts to creep in. A most perfect first course is, for
example, Migas del Pastor, or shepherd’s breadcrumbs, surprisingly
not as humble a dish as it sounds—its ingredients include few but fiery
ingredients: Green Peppers, Oil, Garlic, Salt, and Chorizo. Speaking of
hog killing time, it is worth mentioning Soria’s Morcilla, or blood sausage,
a rare treat—blood thickened with bran bread and sweetened with raisins.
Its cinnamon aroma is unmistakable. Save it for last, because here it is
served baked and as dessert. As a main course (lest the traveler be left
hungry), we recommend a Stew (Caldereta) or a dish of
Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño Cultural Center: Benjamín Palencia,
Tàpies, Cossío, Zabaleta, Saura, Jaume Mercader, Bazquez Díaz,
Millares…to mention a few of the masters of contemporary painting, whose
work you will find here. (Plaza de San Esteban, 3).
Museo Concatedral: Sacred art. It includes paintings, tapestries,
baptismal fonts in diverse styles, and cantoral choir books from Burgo de
Osma.
Ruins And Traces Around
The Province
Q
uite near the city, this highly recommendable route takes us to
Garray, where we run into the city of Numancia itself. Few
places are as evocative. There, aside from walking through the thousandyear-old city, on certain dates it is possible to witness Roman and CelticIberian life reenactments, aside from other theater performances. The
town offers visitors plenty of information.
The Canyon of the River Lobos is a classic destination for all those
seeking the thrill of these landscapes. The Natural Park, realm of the
tawny vulture (Gyps fulvus), is huge, 25 km from Ucero to Hontoria del
Pinar, in the lands belonging to the province of Burgos. It is easily reached
on Highway Nacional 234 towards Burgos.
Visitors travelling with children will be delighted by this province’s
contrasts. There is an abundance of wildlife, along the banks of the Duero,
old towers and watchtowers, and the fun route along the tracks of
SORIA AND ITS PARADOR
6
Escabechada (Vinegar Marinated) game meat. Wine, it goes without
saying, should be a Duero. Oh, and if you want to try something special
and unique to this place, a wonderful culinary souvenir of this region, taste
the Sweet Butter (Mantequilla Dulce).
THE SECRET RECIPE
SWEETBREADS FROM THE ENCHANTED FOREST
Ingredients:
1⁄2 kilo lamb’s sweetbreads, a couple of truffles, a medium sized onion,
1⁄4 kilo of mushrooms (caroon variety, if possible), a full tablespoon of
flour, olive oil for frying, two egg yolks, a cup of stock, bay leaf, parsley,
and a pinch of red pepper.
Once the sweetbreads have been properly cleaned of their extra fat, place
under running water till completely white. Dry them off and put them aside
for later. In a pot, boil the bay leaf, red pepper, onion, and the little bouquet
of parsleyin the broth. In a large pan, slightly brown the flour in some olive
oil, and immediately after, add sweetbreads and fry on low heat. Add the
strained broth and cook sweetbreads on low heat for 45 minutes. And now
comes the ‘cherry on the cupcake,’ that is, to add the truffles, finely sliced,
along with the mushrooms. Once they have cooked through, tie the dish
together with the egg yolks and serve in a terracotta pot.
Parador de Soria
Antonio Machado
Parque del Castillo, s/n. 42005 Soria
Tel.: 975 24 08 00 - Fax: 975 24 08 03
e-mail: [email protected]
Reservation Center
Requena, 3. 28013 Madrid (España)
Tel.: 902 54 79 79 - Fax: 902 52 54 32
www.parador.es / e-mail: [email protected]
Text: Juan G. D’Atri Design: Fernando Aznar
SORIA AND ITS PARADOR
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